


How to find the powers you never had

by JLenon



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:41:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23833294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLenon/pseuds/JLenon
Summary: Kyle was a lab experiment. His family was killed, his world ripped away from him. But he has a plan to take down the institution that did that to him. He only needs Supergirl and her friends to help him.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	1. Welcome to Earth (1)

Kyle Mattinson has been waiting for this. The moment the house of cards that was his life was gonna tumbled down on top of him. He planned, speculated, feared. And it was here. With one knock on a door.

"Hi, my name is Alex Danvers, I'm a Special Agent from the FBI and…"

"I'm so sorry to stop you there," he said putting the palm of his hand in front of her. "But you being here kinda of starts something that you don't really understand. It's Supergirl around?"

"Wh… What are you talking about?" She stuttered, looking around the hallway, her eyes immediately focusing somewhere else. "I don't know Supergirl."

"Well, that's bad. Because in about three minutes, mercenaries hired by Cadmus are gonna storm this bad with the sole intent of killing me. So if Supergirl is around, we're really gonna need her."

"Why Cadmus want to kill you?" He heard before he saw her. The red and the blue were intimidated on the TV, but live was something out of this worlds. Which made sense in the situation.

Alex had her gun in her hand and Supergirl was looking around, trying to find the trouble the man promised. She couldn't see anything, but the fast heartbeats she heard from him made her believe something was up. He was in danger.

"Because I'm intellectual property and they don't want me on the DEO's hands. I have a plan, but you guys will have to follow my lead."

He got back inside his apartment and got a gym bag under the kitchen cabinet. When he opened it, there were weapons. A lot of weapons.

That made Alex point her gun at him and Supergirl turn to him ready for a fight. He predicted that.

"Not for you guys." He said messing around inside the bag, looking for something.

"I can just fly you guys out of here." Supergirl said, still in an offensive position.

"We do that, they come after us. They come after me. They have to believe I'm dead." He finally finds what he was looking for, a big device in a triangular form, that changed into a weird high tech bracelet once it touched his forearm. "This'll help us do it, but you have to play your part. But I don't have much time to explain."

He stroked his chest with the device and another him popped out from behind him.

Alex took a step back. "What the…"

"I'll explain later," he started to walk deeper into the apartment. "Just pretend you're talking to him and in 10 seconds fly through the window and meet me at this address in an hour."

"This is crazy," Supergirl said, walking to the dummy before taking the paper Kyle was offering.

"Welcome to my life." He said disappearing through the bedroom.

Supergirl waved her hand in front of the dummy, who smiled without moving the rest of his body. It was the weirdest thing she had ever seen. Alex was quickly alongside her, fascinated with what she was seeing.

"I so wanna know what this is."

"Exploding, that's what this is." Supergirl said, the imperceptible heat waves coming from it increasing by the millisecond. "We need to get out of here."

"Just a seco…"

She didn't get to finish, because a bunch of guys in tactical gear invaded the place. They seemed to get out of nowhere and had a single target, Kyle Mattinson.

Supergirl and Alex were there before the first shot, but they could still hear it. It was followed by about 20 more before the explosion. It was smaller than they expected, but Supergirl still left Alex on top of some random building to go back and check if the mercenaries were alive.

"I don't you want to check on them." She heard Kyle's voice in a distance. He was trying to catch some air, but didn't stop running. "It only works if they think I'm dead. I understand you know nothing about me, but you're a hero. Please help me save myself."

xxx

She stopped, looking from Alex to the fire coming from the apartment a few buildings away. Kyle wouldn't know her decision until they met again, he wouldn't even know if she heard him. She decided there that keeping him safe was more important than answers right now. However, the questions kept piling up and the reckoning would come.

Kyle ran for about fifteen minutes before getting on the bus. He knew the route by heart, studied that escaping plan like it was the only way to save his life. Which it was. He had prepared for everything, analyzed every scenario, followed every contingency. He did not expect that the boy from the grocery store close to work was the one thing to ruin it.

He fell in love. Hard. The unexpected, hit you like a hurricane kind of love that he didn't even know it existed. And the boy loved him back! With all his heart. Even with the secrets and lies. Even with the hiding most of his life away. He was loved and he wasn't ready to give that up.

"I need you to come with me." He told AJ as soon as he entered Ceaser's Things. He knew that was a mistake, he knew that could ruin everything. But he had to try.

"I'm working." AJ said playful, that beautiful smile moving things on Kyle's stomach. "You can't just come here because you're horny, you know. I'll see you tonight."

"AJ," he took his hand and stared deep into the cashier's eyes. "I'm so sorry I'm doing this with you, but I don't have a choice. I was not prepared for this, for you. I didn't even know I could feel this much for someone and yet, here we are. I can't imagine doing this without you, you know? Living? It's so hard and tiring and repetitive. Every day, another day follows and it all… It's so much and so big and so scary. Yeah, scary. I'm scared and I spent a lot of time pretending I'm not and that is exhausting… It's exhausting and you are the only thing that makes me feel like it's worth it. And it's not fair for me to ask you this and it would be kinda crazy if you said yes, but I'm just hoping you are a bit crazy with me. A bit crazy about me? 'Cause I'm batshit crazy about you. So, please, I need you to come with me. Will you?"

xxx

There was a lot going on in Kara Danvers life. She just had a team up with her cousin Superman, who said how proud he was with her. She just started her career as a journalist. She met Lena Luthor and the woman was far from what Kara expected. She even had an unconscious man in the DEO that fell on Earth with a pod like hers. Being almost blown up was not on her plans. Sitting in a bench in the middle of National City waiting for a man at 4 AM was not on her plans. But there she was, hoping she made the right choice.

"He is gonna be here." Alex assured her, even though she wasn't that sure either. She wasn't that good lying to her sister anymore, though. "Probably. We need to trust your instincts, anyway. And for what is worth, I believe him."

"I know, it's just such a weird turn of events to come from a name search on Cadmus related people. It's too much of a coincidence."

"It's not a coincidence." Kyle said from behind her. "It's a conspiracy. My conspiracy, hoping that someday we could get here. To this point."

"What point?" Alex asked.

"The point where we work together to bring down the institution that kidnaped, experimented and tortured me. But there is a little of story time first. It's a lot to unload." He circled back the bench to face them.

"Well, we are ready to hear it." Supergirl said.

"Me too." Another person walks from the shadows. AJ.

"Fifteen years ago, I was in a car accident with my family. Everybody died but me. Maybe it would have been better if I did, because I was selected for an experimental treatment that used alien DNA to accelerate a human body healing process and save someone from the brink of death. I was seven.

"The treatment worked and after a year unconscious, I was up and running. I was this ball of energy jumping around in the big white lab where they trapped me. I did not understand what was happening at first. My parents were dead and they said I owned them my life. That if I stayed and helped them understand what happened, I would be saving lives. They made me think I had a choice, that I was part of the process.

"I found out later that the experiment didn't stop with saving my life. The alien DNA fused with mine, it was part of me. And if it gave powers to the owner, it could give powers to me too.

"They tried everything, electricity, hypnosis, drugs, bringing me back to the brink of death, drowning. I screamed in pain and could hear others do the same. I was not the only subject, but I was never allowed to meet them. I started to forget about my life before. My parents, my name. I was a code. S11. That was my new name.

"After three years and no results, I met the scientist that saved my life. He convinced the powers of be that maybe torturing me 24/7 wasn't the best way to make it work. They could train me so that if the powers did manifest, I could use them in favor of Cadmus.

"I learned code breaking, martial arts, precision training, every knowledge I would need to use the powers to the best of my abilities, powers I didn't even have yet. He tried so hard to protect me, the others scientist whispered he thought he was my dad.

"Nine more years, I got my chance to leave. They gave up on give me powers, but still wanted to hold on to hope they could find another method of bringing them out. So they made me come back once a month and surveillance me wherever I go.

"I knew I needed to find a way to escape, so I hatched a plan. I left breadcrumbs to connect Cadmus to my alias, Kyle Mattinson, in the hopes that you guys would find me. I worked out how to make them think I'm dead, using their own technology. And once they did, a worm would infect their system and erase every image they have of me, so that only people that worked directly with me could recognize me. That's how I ended up here, with you guys."

"But that's my problem right there." Alex pointed at him, standing up. "All of this is crazy enough on its own, but why go so hard for Supergirl and my help."

"Because the scientist they called my dad was Jeremiah Danvers. And the owner of the DNA I was infected with is called Kara Danvers."


	2. Welcome to Earth (2)

Kyle woke up in a DEO facility. The room was cold and small; the bed could only fit him. He sat down and looked around, chills covering his body. It was so damn familiar. The impersonal feel, the white walls with nothing on it, the single cabinet. This one was empty, but only big enough to fit a few closes. Nothing to make him feel comfortable or at home, completely designed to keep him temporarily.

He was told it was temporary and it lasted eleven years. He didn’t have a choice then, he volunteered to come this time. What was wrong with him? What would make him do such a stupid mistake?

There was a difference this time, though. In Cadmus, he was only allowed to leave the room for training and tests. He was followed the whole time, never a moment alone, never a moment totally his. This time, he had an open door. He was curious about where that could lead him.

Kyle found Hank Henshaw outside of the door. The director of the DEO was sitting at a chair, looking at his phone before rising his head to meet him. Kyle wasn’t ashamed to admit he was a bit intimidated by the man.

“Mr. Mattinson, I’m glad you’re awake, we have a lot to talk about.” He said assertive.

“I’m sure Agent Danvers and Supergirl briefed you about what I told them last night.”

“They did. We are still trying to fit it together into something that makes sense.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had to kind of dump the whole thing on them to try to get the least amount of trust. I’m still not sure how successful I was, but they brought me here.” He raised his shoulders unsure. “I’m hoping it means something.”

“It means they want to know more. As do I.”

The phrase didn’t sound as much as a threat as Kyle would think, but there was a certain level of obligatorily implied in it. In a _you are here, but that can change_ kind of way. That wasn’t surprising, thought. They could only help if they know what was going on.

“You know, I have been preparing for this for a while. I had to do monthly visits to one of their research facilities and I stole as much information as I could. If you can get me a computer station, I can access it and give it to you. Can confirm everything I said and maybe help us find another location.”

“I’m not sure I can trust you with access to our server yet. I can get you an agent with access to supervise you, though.”

“I can make that work.” He gave a small smile before remembering something. “Is AJ okay? Is he still here?”

Henshaw nodded. “He is still here, still sleeping. I have an agent posted outside his door, but I’ll have to talk to him before you can see him.”

“He doesn’t know anything.”

“I believe you, but protocol…”

Kyle wasn’t happy about it, but he did understand. Having a civilian with him was not part of the plan. Fall for him wasn’t either. He would have to adapt.

“Just don’t scare him too much, yeah?”

“I’ll try my best.”

x.x.x

Kara opened the door to her apartment before Alex had the chance to knock. She had a somber expression, which didn’t stop her sister from complaining.

“This is creepy, I told you already.” She came in, a cardboard tray with two coffee cups in one hand and a box with donuts in the other.

“I knew you were up and you had your hands full” She said taking the box

“Leave some for me, please.” Alex asked when Kara already had one in her mouth.

“Sure.” The kryptonian said with her mouth full. “Did you talk to John?”

“Kinda. He called me when I was getting the coffee. He said the kid promised some intel if he could get access to a terminal. Winn is supervising him, even though he started like yesterday.”

“If you guys had a senior agent who knew as much about computers as Winn does, I’m sure they would be the doing it. And having Winn there means we get firsthand information.” Kara shrugged, getting another donut. “You are just mad you’re not the one doing it.”

“He said he has your DNA and that he knows my father, but doesn’t agree to a DNA test or tell me where he is? It’s fishy.”

“He is trying to gain trust and can you blame him? His life literally exploded.”

“He did that! To himself! I still don’t know how.”

“He was in a think tank of evil technology, I don’t need to know much more than that.”

“Well, that’s if you believe what he says.”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t know. You gotta admit, it’s a weird story that he apparently has proof is true, even though we never saw it, and involve us in a very specific and enormous way.”

“It doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I heard his heartbeats, he was not lying. And yes, it’s farfetched and absurd, but so it’s a teenager stuck in a pod without time passing and then hitting Earth when the baby cousin she was following is already an adult. You took me in anyway.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly my choice.” She smirked and caught the last donut before Kara left her with none. “It’s just… It feels like someone trying to invade our family, you know? Your DNA, calling my father dad…”

“He never said he called Jeremiah dad, he said people mocked them about it. Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me your dad taking him in like that. He did it to me. And that was his choice. I just think that if you consider it’s true and believe all the things he said he went through; is there really anyway we can not get involve?”

“I don’t know, I don’t have this big heart of yours, Kara. I can just keep catching family left and right.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure you have a choice.”

x.x.x

Kyle finds Winn Schott at the station Director Henshaw indicated. The agent tried his best to seem serious and focused in the task at hand and Kyle had no intention in sabotage him. But after five minutes of weird looks and a shake leg, he had to speak.

“Dude, you are fine,” Kyle sighed. “I’m not trying anything funny. I just encrypted it because it’s dangerous. It’s gonna take a few minutes.”

“Okay, I get it,” Winn tried to play it cool. It lasted about two seconds. “It’s just, if you are telling the truth, you are an alien/human hybrid and who knows what that means.”

He couldn’t keep his enthusiasm anymore and Kyle could see all the ideas and plans going through his brains. It wasn’t the first time he saw something like that. It scared him all the same.

“Depending on who you are talking to, it means torture and crazy experiments, which I’m not willing to go through again. That’s why I’m giving you guys this.”

“And why you’re not letting us test your blood?”

“Exactly. Been there, done that. I want my blood inside of me.”

“Yes, but… isn’t that the easiest way to prove your point? To convince everybody you are telling the truth?”

“This can prove it too without me having to give up my blood for it.”

“Sure, but… I know Supergirl and I know Alex. And I do think the best way to get their trust is maybe trust them back? I don’t know, it’s nothing to do with me and I didn’t go through what you went through, so…”

Winn didn’t have a chance to finish his thought because the loudest alarm started to ring in the entire DEO. Kyle never saw someone open his eyes as wide as Winn did, looking from one side to the other to try and figure out what was going on.

The two agents posted with them got on a higher alert stand to protect the door and soon they could see what was going on.

Kyle heard about the unconscious kryptonian that fell from the sky because field agents don’t speak as low as they think they do. And Kyle was used to get information in a sneaky way. So when the very shirtless, very hot man appeared in his direction, he had piece together in his head what was going on. He also knew it was not good.

The agents attacked the man, unsuccessfully. And when Winn got a keyboard to try and attack him, Kyle put a hand in his stomach to stop him.

“Pick your fights, man.”

The kryptonian looked at them and when he decided they were no threats, kept going his way out the door. Or the window.

All hell broke loose after that. The damn alarm was still ringing in their ears half an hour after stopped and agents were walking left and right, Supergirl and Alex Danvers with them.

After he was briefed and cleared, he found an upset Winn talking to Supergirl under the big stairwell of the entrance hall.

“… and I just let him go, what kind of agent am I?”

“An alive one,” Kyle said. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but there was nothing you could have done then. There is now, tracking him and bringing him back. I would even help you if I had the clearance.”

“I can get you temporary clearance if you can actually help.” Supergirl said, a small smile running away from here.

“I can, I just need to talk to AJ first, he must be terrified.”

“Okay. We should talk, though. We need to figure this all out.”

“Yes, we do. I’ll find you. Just as soon as I find him.”

It didn’t take long to find AJ, he was a couple hallways over with Alex. He was sitting down, looking at his feet. When he heard Kyle coming in, he looked up and just his face broke Kyle’s heart.

“What the hell did you get me into?”

“A…”

“No.” He stood up. “You lie to me; I get arrested…”

“You are not arrested.” Alex clarified.

“But I still can’t talk to my family. Are they okay? Are they safe?”

“Yes, they are safe.” Kyle tried to touch AJ’s shoulders, to calm him down. It makes it worse.

“Don’t.” He said taking a step back. “I want to go home, I want to check on my family and I want time to process all of this.” He shook his head. “I’m dating a half alien! And I had another one that could have killed me. This is insane.”

“I know, I just…”

“Maybe is best to give him the time he needs.” Alex stopped him before he dug even deeper. “Are you sure Cadmus can’t connect the two of you?”

“Yes, I cleaned every digital trace, I never… never met his family or friends, it was all…”

“Oh. That is why… I thought you were just uncomfortable with your sexuality, but it’s… so much worse. Just go, please. Get out.”

x.x.x

It was not easy to get over the gut punch that was that conversation. Kyle tried to concentrate in finding the kryptonian and finishing decrypting his data, but his mind kept going back to AJ.

He was right, in the end. Kyle lied about so much of his life and who he was, the man is probably thinking if he even knew him. Kyle wasn’t even sure he knew himself.

He had a lot of rules to follow when Cadmus agreed to let him out. Those got a lot loose with time, with him becoming less of a priority, but they were still there. And Kyle thought those rules would make it easier to get use to a normal life, to the outside. It wasn’t.

Too many people, too much space, too many options. He even got a job to try and keep his thoughts in check. It was manual labor, in a construction site seven subway stops away from where he was living. Day in, day out lifting weight, moving stuff. He got home exhausted every single time. And he was still thinking too loud.

Until he met him and his mind stopped, maybe his heart a little too. Suddenly it was all him, the black man about his age sitting across the counter of the grocery store.

He brought a frozen dinner and a coke the first day and after coming in the entire week, AJ thought something was up. They didn’t flirt openly, too many big supposedly straight guys around all the time. But there was always a look, a smile, a hand touch. Until the day Kyle caught AJ alone and they escaped to the back of the store.

They kissed each other hard, the frustration of the wait bigger than any worry of noise or the unattended store. It was like the world had finally stopped and Kyle could catch a breath.

“Hey,” Supergirl’s voice brought Kyle back from his thoughts. She had such a huge smile on her face, excitement leaking from her and making him feel a little warm inside. Not everybody was as miserable as he was right now. “You didn’t find me.”

“Yeah, well, the conversation wasn’t that good and then you were busy. I mean, you’re gonna meet the president, so who am I to be in the way?” He joked.

“The president, can you believe it?” She almost yelled, like a kid getting double Christmas presents. She took a breath to calm down. “But yes, Alex told me about your boyfriend. I’m sorry. I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“I’m not even sure he should, though. It’s a mess. This is all a mess.”

“I know, but we’ll fix it. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. They reviewed the data, it all checks out. Alex is still on the fence, but that’s just Alex, she takes a little more time to trust, I… I just want to say that what happened to you is horrible, but I’m glad you are here now. Like I told Alex, you have my DNA, Jeremiah loved you, you are family. Not matter where you come from.”

Kyle didn’t feel like family and he wasn’t sure Supergirl felt it as well, but it was still a nice sentiment.

“Well, I tell you what, I’ll try to get AJ out of my mind by tracking down the fugitive while you go meet the president. You know, like it’s a normal thing people do.” He chuckled and the big bright smile got back to her.

“I know, right? It’s crazy. The president! I’m gonna meet the president!”


	3. Welcome to Earth (3)

Supergirl did get to meet the president. She also got to stop an assassination attempt because of course she did. And if Kyle thought the DEO went crazy when the kryptonian escaped, he had no idea what a presidential visit would do to the place.

"I'm nervous," Winn confessed shifting his focus from his screen to Kyle.

"Why? Is not like she is gonna talk to you," Kyle teased because even though he just met the guy, he was sooooo easy.

"She won't." He nodded. "Probably not. I mean, maybe." He turned his head in a hopeful, but doubtful way.

"Well, I'll tell you what. If she decided to talk to you, I'll make sure you don't say anything stupid. Like you are doing now."

"I'm not…" He pointed at Kyle and then laughed. "Shut up and get back to work."

"Sure, boss." He was still laughing when he turned back to the computer. "Thank God AJ wasn't here when the attack happened. I'm sure he would find a way to blame me for it too."

"Technically, it's your fault for not finding the kryptonian."

"Hum, you work here, I'm just helping out. So it's way more your fault than mine." He shrugged. "Maybe we can blame Alex, she hates me enough already."

"She doesn't hate hate you, she just… I know about her sister for over a year and she still looks at me threatening when she thinks I'm about to spill the beans. She'll give you a chance. And so will AJ. I feel like we had this conversation already."

"I know, I'm so tired of talking about this." He stood up, crossing his hands behind his head. "I wanna do something. I wanna get this guy, I need a win."

Kyle walked towards Winn, with a new determination in his eyes that scared the agent a little bit. He lowered his head o face the newly appointed agent.

"Agent Winn Schott, this is your chance, right here, right now, to prove right whoever had the crazy idea that you had enough nerve to be a federal agent. This is our moment to show the world that an awkward nerd and a science experiment can save the world. It's time to move our asses and get this guy." He slapped an arm from Winn chair, startling him. "Are you with me or not?"

Winn gulped, Kyle's eyes intensely staring into his, his face way too close.

"Yes." He nodded, pushing his chair away from Kyle. "We'll do it now."

And funny enough, they actually did. It took a while and a lot of yelling and many sodas from the vending machine, but they managed to pinpoint a location for Supergirl to find and restrain the supposed kryptonian. Suppose because, as they discovered, he wasn't actually from Krypton, but from a place called Daxan.

Supergirl was definite not a fan. She spoke with big disdain about how different Krypton and Daxan culture were and how that led to an unnecessary war for years on end. It was this whole big thing that didn't interest Kyle one bit. Supergirl was sure he was guilty and apparently that was enough for everybody to accept it.

"So, he is guilty, we are sure?" Kyle asked Alex after they locked the prisoner in his cell.

"As sure as we'll be at the moment." She spoke in a very rigid way, as if she was giving him a report. "I heard you helped Winn find him. If you thought that was a way to make me trust you, you were wrong."

"Yeah, I'm not stupid, I never expected you to trust me over this. I was just bored and, honestly? It was kind of nice using the training they torture into me for something good. I mean, I have all this stuff in my brain that has no use in normal life and now helped saved the president. Hopefully, it'll also help the jerks that did this to me."

He looked at her, searching for any sign that she would let up and let him in a little bit. She didn't give him an inch.

"Alright, I don't need you to like me or anything, I just… I'm asking for help because I don't have any other choice. I have been doing it all by myself and didn't get too far. They are evil and they hurt me and they have to pay. They also have your father, and I think we both want to know what happened to him. It's a win-win. Just think about it, okay?"

x.x.x

Turns out daxan guy wasn't actually the terrorist, he was just guilty of bad timing and unfortunate history. The irony didn't escape Kyle, Kara doing to the alien the same thing Alex was doing to him, judging before even give them a chance.

Kyle knew that was an easy fix with Alex, though, a way to make her see he was telling the truth. He just wasn't sure he was ready for it. He wasn't ready for a lot of things. Like the phone call he was about to answer.

"AJ," he said, the weight of that call suddenly stomping on his shoulders. "I'm happy you are talking to me."

"I never said I wouldn't talk to you. I was just processing things. I still am." He took a beat before continuing. "Are you keeping this phone? If you haven't texted me, I wouldn't be able to talk to you."

"Yeah, I'm keeping it. You can get me with it anytime. Is that why you call, to confirm the number? Because if it is, it's okay, I understand. You can take how much time as you need, I'm…"

"No, I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to explain."

"You don't have to…"

"I do. I was scared and I blamed you for something that wasn't your fault. Something that was done to you and that's a shitty thing to do. I'm not saying I'm super on board with the secret alien hunting organization thing, that is gonna take a minute. But I don't want you to think that I'm done with you. I love you and we'll find a way to get through this. I'll get through this."

"Hey, I really get it. Truth is, I shouldn't have come to your work like that, drop it all at once."

"You couldn't have prepared me for this, I get that. I get why you hid and everything, I'm not mad about that. It's just a lot, but I realized something. Sometimes we have to face some fears for the people that we love. It's just gonna take a little bit more time. Can you wait for a bit?"

"I can wait at lot." Kyle couldn't help the small smile taking his face. It wasn't a 'I'm okay', it was the closest thing he could expect at the moment. And he was okay with it.

That talk help him decide to fix a relationship he was beginning to form. It was a scary proposition and he wasn't quite sure how he would go through with it, but AJ's words kept repeating in his head. Sometimes we have to face some fears for the people that we love. If he wanted that incredible mess to be over, if he wanted to be normal, he had to get read of Cadmus. And for that, he needed Alex Danvers.

"Hey." He said entering the med bay where Alex was talking to the NC detective that helped them get the terrorist. He waved at her before asking to speak with Alex. "Are you okay?"

"What? I…" She stared at him confused. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine, what do you want to talk to me?"

"Okay, so I need you to understand that this is not easy for me. For a long time, I was a thing, a material to study with no right to choice or feel pain or anything. And even when I got out, there was always that shadow over me, making sure I knew I was intellectual property. So me, giving you my blood, letting you study me… it's huge. And I need you to acknowledge that even if you don't trust me, even if you don't like me, I'm still a person and I'm gonna be treated like that. If you can understand and respect what I'm saying, I'll give you a sample of my blood and agree with any test you may require. All I want is to be treated like a person."

Alex looked at him and it was hard for her to see the big threat she saw before. It was just a speech and he could be totally manipulating her, but that was not what she was seeing in front of her. Instead, there was a kid. A terrified, confused, begging her to be his friend and not hurt him kid. And that took her right back to some years ago, when her parents show up at home with a girl from another planet.

That was bad. That unexpected and confusing feeling of connection with someone she knew she shouldn't. Someone that had the potential to blow up her life. It wasn't even the first time she felt that lately.

"Okay, I promise. It's gonna be okay."


	4. Survivors (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyle and Mon-el go through various tests for the DEO, and while Kyle tries to figure out where he fits in the Super Friends dynamic, Alex tries to figure out where he fits in her family one.

The next few days were intense. And scary. And a little bit exciting, which surprised Kyle to no end. With everything he went through with Cadmus and testing and labs, he was expecting to hate everything about it like he did before. But this was different than before, even with all the similarities. This time, he was part of the process. He saw results, he analyzed samples with Alex, he discussed findings and what they meant. He wasn't just the subject of the research, he was involved in develop it. He had a kind of power over his own life that he never had before and it was hard for him do describe what that actually meant.

He wasn't alone in the process either. Mon-el, the daxan lost on Earth, was going through some testing of his own. Of course, they were different in nature, since Mon-el had a bunch of superpowers manifesting as soon as he got to Earth and Kyle was his old plain human being with some weird DNA mixed in it. However, it was enough for them to bond a little. Maybe even become friends.

"They really are relentless, huh?" Mon-el asked one night after some heavy physical exams. Both him and Kyle were very sweaty, very smelly, very tired. That didn't stop him from talking, and talking, and talking, though. "That Danvers agent, I mean, you sure she doesn't have super powers? She is a machine."

"She is driven." Kyle laughed because, yes, Alex Danvers was a force of nature. He heard Jeremiah Danvers talk about his daughter a lot back in his Cadmus days and as much as he had an idea of who she was, seeing it was a whole other thing. "But it's good. She has to assess how much we have to offer or how much risk we represent. In your case, anyway, since you are a mess."

"I'm not a mess." He put his hand on his chest, and opened his mouth. "And I'm not a risk. I just need them to finish this assessment and let me live. I cannot be held prisoner in this place anymore."

"You are not a prisoner."

"If you are in a place where you can't leave, you are a prisoner."

"I have been a prisoner. Trust me, this is a lot nicer."

Mon-el went silent for a while, making Kyle wonder if telling him his life story was a mistake. That didn't come up much before, since it had to be a secret, but growing up in a lab is something that must people would feel bad about you. And as cliched as it may be, Kyle didn't want people to pity him. He knew it was a horrible thing. He knew he would deal with consequences over it for the rest of his life. But that was his life, his issues. And he could deal with them. He could deal with whatever he decided he could.

"You are right." He conceded. "But it's still very annoying and that you have to give to me."

"I can accept that. Now, I'm gonna run to the showers so that you don't finish the hot water in this entire facility."

"Well, I'm very fast, so I'll probably get there first."

He did. And Kyle found that very annoying.

"You know, I do understand how he feels," Kyle explained to Alex after she drew more blood in the next day. "I mean, at least I had a life for a while before coming here, he was lost in space in a pod. Which, speaking of space, his planet is totally gone, right?"

"How do you know that?" Alex dropped the sample and stared at him. "Did Kara say anything?"

"I have barely seem Kara since we started this. And you guys are all cagey every time he asks about his planet. He didn't notice, but I have an advantage."

"Which is?"

"I know Krypton is gone. And those were like connected planets, right?"

"Sister planets." She wrote something in a vial. "Does not mean they explode together."

"An easy assumption to make, anyway."

Kyle stayed quiet for a while, Alex getting too distracted with her work to notice the anxious energy he was sending. His feet couldn't quite reach the floor from where he was sitting, so they swung for a bit before he finally spoke.

"So, what's the plan?"

"What plan?" She asked still looking at the screen.

"For me. After the tests and everything. I mean, I don't want to presume anything, but I don't think you hate me anymore."

"I never hated you. I just didn't know you."

"And you know me now?"

"I know a lot." She finally turned to him. "I know your DNA sequence. I know how many languages you speak and how long it takes for you to answer a logic questionnaire."

"So much faster than Mon-el."

"Well, aim higher, kid. I also know you flinch every time you see a needle, not because you are afraid of it, but because of bad memories. I know that you gave some of the answers for Mon-el on the questionnaire because you didn't want him to feel stupid. That you asked Winn about past Supergirl enemies because maybe you can come up with ways to stop them before they come after her again. Even though, as you said, you haven't talked to her for days. I know all that."

Kyle nodded and his feet stop swinging. He looked down and noticed his shoelaces were loose. He did not know what to do with that.

"Here is what we are gonna do. I'm gonna talk to Hank about getting you a position here at the DEO. One where I can keep an eye on you and you can help us get to Cadmus. We can work together, but you have one chance. Break my trust and that's it."

"Okay." He rose his head to reach her eyes. "I can do that."

* * *

Kyle was excited about his possible new job. He never actually considered working in the DEO when he was planning his escape from Cadmus control, but now that he thought about it, it was kind of perfect. He would be close to Alex and Supergirl, which was even more important now that he met and cared about them, another thing he didn’t expect. He would be in the center of the information regarding Cadmus. And he could use the training the evil organization gave him against them, which made it all that much sweeter.

So, it stood to reason that when a alien body was found and Alex went in the field, he would be able to go with her.

“Absolutely not.” She said without missing a bit. He did get a sympathetic look from Supergirl, which was something, he guessed. Well, not really. He was still really annoyed.

“I’m really annoyed.” He told Winn and Mon-el the first chance he got.

“Oh, please, you didn’t go in the field today, but you are still her favorite. You’ll go soon. I’ll still be stuck here.” Mon-el kept complaining. It was getting old. “And I still can’t talk to my planet, so there’s that. I think I’m going crazy.”

“You are not going crazy.” Winn tried to help.

“You always have been crazy.” Kyle teased. Everyone helped in their own way. “Do you think I should talk to Director Hershaw about me going on the field? It can be really good for the team, you know?”

“I think that’s a terrible idea.” Winn said.

“Horrible, horrible.” Mon-el commented.

“I’m doing it.” Kyle stood up convinced, while the other two shook their heads in disapproval.

They were right, though, Director Hershaw was angry about something, Kyle could feel before even saying a word. But he was already there, might as well just bite the bullet.

“I think I can be a real asset on the field. I have all the military training your agents have, I passed all the physical exams Alex put me through and I’m smart. I can help!”

“I’m not gonna put you in the field because you are bored. And coming here to go above Agent Danvers does not help your case. If that’s your idea of how to earn trust, you are going the wrong way.”

“Okay, I did not mean to go over Alex. I’m very thankful for her help and you even considering hiring me, but I’m doing everything I can to show I can be trusted. I didn’t even tell anyone about you being from Mars, which is a big deal.”

Kyle regretted his words as soon as they were out of his mouth. Not because he thought they were wrong or offensive. But because the man in front of him became this huge green creature with red eyes and anger waves being expelled from his body.

“Do you think you can threaten me?”

“I’m so not doing that.” He said, taking a step back without even realizing it. “I just meant that it’s really hard to get into this group you guys have and I keep trying to show I’m trustworthy, but at some point you’ll have to take me at face value. Now, clearly something else is going on that I have nothing to do with, so please, take your time to handle it without removing my head from the rest of my body. But after that, consider that maybe I’m not the enemy and I can actually help.”

Kara and Alex were right outside the Director’s office when Kyle left and he made a frown when he passed them. Maybe they would have better luck. Maybe he wouldn’t try to give them a heart attack. Maybe, he decided, he should just find something else to do.

“Well, that seems ominous.” Alex said looking from Kyle to Hank’s door. “Maybe we should go talk to him.”

“Yeah, sure, before that, though.” Kara scratched the back of her head, looking away from Alex for a bit. “How is he, you know, doing?”

“J’onn?”

“No! Kyle. I know the tests thing must be triggering, right?”

“Yeah, kinda. Why didn’ you ask him, though?”

“I don’t know, I just…” She shook her head and crossed her arms. “You were bonding and I didn’t wanna get in the middle of it.”

“What?”

“Yes. I mean, the science stuff and now he is gonna be an agent. It’s good you are spending time together and I wanted to give you guys space to do that.”

“Kara, you are talking so much nonsense right now. Say what you mean, please.”

“Alex,” she shifted her weight to another leg and dropped her arms. “He called Jeremiah dad. He has my DNA. And he has no one. He needs us and I just wanted to give you space to realize that yourself. But you keep in denial and now I have to push, which I don’t wanna do, but you leave me no choice.”

“Kara… He is not a puppy we found on the street that we can just take home and claim as ours. He is a person. He is an adult.”

“He is young and alone and as close to lost family as it’s ever gonna get.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I remember a little girl that didn’t had anyone and…”

“I can’t believe you are using that. Don’t use that.” 

“Her entire planet was gone and you made her your sister. It was a decision you made and I believe it’s time to do it again. You were the greatest big sister I could ever ask and now I get the chance to be a big sister too. But I can’t do it alone. He needs both of us.”

Alex shook her head and closed her eyes. That was not where she thought that conversation was going. 

“Can I think about it, at least?” 

“Sure. You took some time to accept me too, remember?”

“Shut up.”


	5. Survivors (2)

Alex conversation with Hank was more intense than she expected. However, she could deal with intense a whole lot easier than the butterflies that kept showing up in her stomach every time a certain detective talked to her. A certain female detective, to make things more confusing. So confusing that she barely knew how she go caught up in a underground fight club for aliens. And even worse, how Kara ended up hurt because of it.

"Are you okay?" Kyle asked, running to the DEO med bay as soon as he heard what happened.

"No, I just had my ass kicked by a seven foot tall alien gladiator. I'm far from okay." She said still trying to get her breathing regularly.

Kyle turned to Alex because he wasn't sure how to respond to that and she just shrugged.

"Aliens fighting aliens for money." J'onn said sighing. "Humans have always exploited our kind, but this is a new level."

Kyle could see how disappointed and angry the Martian was. He could also see Alex and Kara looking at each other deciding what to say next.

"Well, I'm sensing maybe I should let you guys talk." He said before touching Kara's shoulder. "I'm glad you are not seriously hurt. We can work in the okay part later." He smiled at Alex before leaving the room.

He was still thinking about how annoying it was to be kept always at the verge of things when a excited Mon-el and a suspicious Winn approached him.

"We are going out." Winn said faster than he meant. He looked at Mon-el before turning to Kyle again. "It was his idea."

"Of course the terrible idea would be yours." Kyle laughed. "The Director told you to stay in the building."

"It's just for a few hours," Mon-el reassure him, as if that made it all okay. "Some much needed relaxation after all this thankless work. Something that you deserve too. You should come with us!"

"Come with us!" Winn repeated, so excited he almost squealed. He obviously had no experience in doing something he wasn't supposed to and it showed. "You can call AJ, he could meet us there."

"Or I'm sure I can find some attractive alien to show you what real fun looks like." Mon-el promised, which actually peaked more of Winn's attention.

"Well, as much as I would love to be terrible with you guys, I'm really working on this trust thing and I'm not gonna jeopardize that over some silly drinks at a bar. However, I can't pretend I never saw you guys leave and just go to my room to catch up on some TV."

"So did you finish season one or not?" Winn asked

"No, I'm still creped out about the kids in gas masks asking for the mommies." Kyle said. "I'm finding something else."

"No, keep going. It's good, I promised."

"Winn, are we going or not?" Mon-el interrupted.

"Yeah, we are going. Bye."

* * *

The next day came carrying a lot of trouble. Apparently, you can't shut down an underground fight ring with aliens in one day and Supergirl was very frustrated with it.

"I should've heat vision'd that stupid champagne glass out of her hand." She told a just awakened Kyle, a hangover Winn, a normalish Alex and an angry J'onn.

"That would have been fun." Kyle shrugged. "Ineffective, but fun."

"I just can't accept that that's actually their only option." She continued. "How do you stop them from letting themselves be used and exploited?"

Kyle had to restrain himself from telling her how stupid that statement actually was. He knew she had good intentions, but to think a whole group of people is used and exploited because they allow it disregard all the other complex and huge reasons why they don' t have a choice in the matter.

"By offering something more powerful then fear," was the answer Alex gave and, although he still had something to say about it, he decided to let it go for now. Because he still wanted to be a part of that team. And that meant sometimes not being judgmental himself.

"Well, tell me and hangover boy over here how we can help." He offered.

"I'm not hangover, you are hangover," was the clever response Winn mustered.

"You have a sack of ice over your head, man." Kyle pointed at him. "That's a dead give away."

"Yes, and considering the reports of a super powered alien fight with a 5' 2'' sidekick by his side, you are actually looking better than you should!" J'onn yelled making Winn flinch.

"I'm 5' 9''!"

"Dude, stop." Kyle warned him. "I told you it was a bad idea."

"You knew?" J'onn changed his target. "And you didn't do anything? You don't think this affects you? They don't care that you are only half an alien via an evil lab. They'll judge you just like us and things like that just make them fear us more."

"Hey, what could I have done? He is a super powered guy and I didn't think his relationship with the DEO would be on a good stand if I had an agent try and restrain him. And I'm also not responsible for his choices, whatever those anti-aliens ignorant people think."

"We work so hard to make humans trust us." He said calmer now. More disappointed then angry. "All it takes is one alien to ruin it for all of us."

"You are not talking about Mon-el or Kyle anymore, are you?" Supergirl asked.

"I spoke to M'gann last night." He answered, which didn't really help Kyle.

"Who is M'gann?"

"She is the only other Martian alive." He explained. "And she has been a part of the alien fight club."

"Oh, okay. That's… tough."

"I want to help her, but…"

"Yeah, well… there's a reason people end up in situations like that. She lost everything, she lost everyone, and she found herself a way to move forward. Now you are in her life and that's good, but doesn't give you the right to revoke her choices or who she is. You have to give her the chance to figure out her life by herself. I mean, you can help, but it's still her choice."

J'onn seemed receptive to his message, which resonate with Kara about Mon-el too. They both kept trying to impose their decisions and concepts of moral into others and that could only lead to disappointment.

"I'm gonna go talk to Mon-el." Supergirl announced before facing J'onn. "And you should talk to M'gann." She then turned to Kyle. "Thanks."

He nodded while she walked away.

* * *

Kyle was feeling really confident about his stand with the DEO. He had good conversations with all the super friends he met, although he did make a note to himself that he has yet to meet James Olsen, who he heard is big part of the group. He never really got the whole need for being a part of something that he saw so much in the movies after he left the lab. When he managed the deal with Cadmus, their biggest demand was that he never drew attention to himself. So he kept people at arms length and hid AJ as much as he could so nobody could make the connection. Because once Cadmus did, they were in danger and he couldn’t have that.

Now Cadmus thought he was dead and he could breath. He could meet people. He could have friends. He was not out of the woods yet, he wanted to stop them altogether, but he was in the right track. He felt proud.

“Hey, look at that smile.” Mon-el said crossing paths with Kyle in one of the DEO’s hallways. “You seem happy in a ‘I didn’t get a scolding’ kind of way.”

“I didn’t, ‘cause I didn’t get Winn drunk in a school night and got into a fight with a giant alien.”

“He wasn’t giant.”

“He was bigger than you.”

“I was stronger.”

“You were stupider.”

“You like them stupid.”

“Says you.” Kyle laughed. “I told you it was a bad idea. You didn’t say anything, but Winn can’t withstand the littlest bit of pressure. You knew this would happen and you went anyway.”

“Yeah, I did.” He was a little smug about it, which didn’t improve the situation at all. “I can’t be the quiet little lap dog they want me to be. I like them, I like this planet, but I need to breath. Have a life. Have fun. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. And trust me, I may not know you for long, but I know you enough to see you are about to break too.” Mon-el got closer, pointing a finger to Kyle’s chest. “And when you do, I’m guessing all hell will break loose.”

Kyle left the conversation thinking Mon-el was stupid. He was carving his space, becoming part of the team. But then the team went into the field and didn’t take him again, and he thought maybe the alien wasn’t all wrong. Maybe he would never actually be part of the group. He kept people afar for so long, this was probably the universe paying him back, saying ‘that’s what you get for being an idiot loner’. And he deserved that. That was what he got.

He went to his room and called AJ, the person he knew was always gonna be there. It rang and rang and nothing. Maybe always had a time table too.

* * *

Kyle did get back to central command to know what was happening because he wasn’t a child with behavior problems, even if he behaved like one from time to time. He did what he could to help, which wasn’t much considering his current situation, but everything worked out and everybody got back safe. He congratulated everybody and then got back to his room, because AJ answered his text and he wanted to complain.

“Hey, Kyle, can we talk to you in the conference room?” Alex asked before he could reach his room.

“Okay,” he replied reluctant. Conference rooms were for serious business or private business. He wasn’t sure he was read for either of them. He still followed her, though, and found Kara in her Supergirl clothes waiting for them.

“Hey.” She smiled and his stresses downed a bit. Just a bit.

“Hey. Is everything okay? I thought the mission was over and…”

“No, it’s fine.” Alex said, pulling one of the chairs and sitting. Kara did the same. “Sit down, we wanted to talk to you about our plans moving forward.”

“What plans?” He sat, still nervously looking from Alex to Kara.

“Well, I did every test I could think of and they all confirmed what you said. I won’t do any more of them unless you come up with something that you want to find out.” Alex announced.

“Okay. Good.” He was relieved. Just because they weren’t as bad as he thought, it didn’t mean he wanted to keep doing them.

“Also,” Kara continued, “J’onn agreed to hire you as an agent in training.”

“You would work under me,” Alex clarified. “I would be your training office and since you won’t go to any of the affiliated agency academies, you would have to get individual certifications for the field skills you would need. So no weapons or any autonomy until those documents. I know it’s annoying and you are eager to…”

“I can do the certifications, easily. And I can be patient too.”

“Now, for the personal part.” Kara shared a smile with Alex before continuing. “I know you planned your fake death and it worked, but we don’t want to risk Cadmus ever getting to you again. So we think you would be better with someone by your side protecting you as much as possible.”

“Okay.” He was reluctant again. He did not wanna live in the DEO forever.

“So we thought maybe you could move in with me.” 

That hit Kyle like a train. She barely spoke to him all week and now wanted to be roommates?

“I know I kind of kept my distance the last few days, I thought I was giving you and Alex the opportunity to get to know each other better, but I went the wrong way. I guess I was so quick in my mind to think of you as family, that I forgot we don’t have years of shared history to hold that connection. I’ll do a better job in being a big sister in the future. I had a amazing one to learn from.”

Here comes the train again, leaving a speechless Kyle looking from Alex to Kara.

“I was more reluctant with the whole family thing.” Alex confessed. “We have J’onn and Winn and James, but Kara has always been my sister and I would do anything to her. It’s a different dynamic. But when I look at who you are, at your relationship with my dad, at this weird connection that we have, it just feels right. It feels like you are one of us. And I understand if you are not there yet, but we can build on what we have and get there. If you are willing.”

She pushed a folder to him and when he opened, he found an ID. Kyle Danvers.

“We thought maybe we can say that you are my biological brother that went into foster care and that we recently met.” Kara explained. “That you changed your name so we could feel more like a family.”

“That way we can stop some questions we don’t want to answer and hide you from Cadmus. So… what do you think?”

What did he think? On one hand, it was all so incredibly fast and he wasn’t sure he could get to that instant family feelings they were talking about. He was told so many times he was just a thing, he had a hard time thinking what he actually had to offer them. On the other hand, that was everything he dreamed his whole life. How could he say no to that?

“Well, I have no idea how to be a brother. Maybe we figure out together?”


End file.
